Web enabled business to business computer system for rental car services

ABSTRACT

An Internet enabled, business-to-business computerized transaction system is disclosed in its preferred embodiment for use in providing rental car services for high volume users and comprises an Internet web portal through which the high volume user may access an integrated business computer network for the rental vehicle service provider. The rental vehicle services provider computer network is configured to interconnect a geographically diverse plurality of branch offices, cataloguing their available rental vehicles and schedules for same as well as handling all transactional data relating to its business. The Internet web portal provides ubiquitous connectivity and portability for a multi-level business organization who regularly places high volumes of rental purchases with its business partner. Utilizing the method and apparatus of the present invention large volumes of rental transactions may be placed, monitored, altered during performance, and closed out with financial accounting and payment being made virtually without human intervention.

CROSS-REFERENCE AND PRIORITY CLAIM TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/641,820 entitled “Web Enabled Business to Business OperatingSystem for Rental Car Services” filed Aug. 18, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.______, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of an Internet enabledbusiness-to-business intelligent communication link allowing a firstbusiness organization to have intelligent interaction with a secondfully integrated business organization to facilitate the placing oforders or reservations for business services or goods, with the servicesor goods provider having a computer network linking multiple levels ofits organization to provide for the smooth conduct of business betweenthe two organizations. More particularly, this field relates to anInternet enabled automatic rental vehicle transaction system tofacilitate the conduct of rental vehicle transactions between twomultilevel business organizations, one of which provides such rentalvehicle transaction services in an integrated manner through businessenterprise software to a high volume user of such rental vehicleservices wherein an Internet web portal is defined by the rental vehicleservice provider which interconnects the two business organizations atmultiple levels, providing a graphical user interface (GUI) for thetransaction of large amounts of rental vehicle services automaticallyand virtually without human intervention upon entry.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer technology has been embraced by many businesses in order tohandle their ever increasing order flow as well as to mitigate theincreasing blizzard of paper required to be produced to document thisbusiness. A significant benefit which often drives the implementation oftechnology is its further advantage in increasing productivity tothereby allow fewer people to handle greater volumes of business. Onesuch good example demonstrating the efficiencies and value to be gainedby implementing technology is the business model developed and followedby the assignee of the present invention. A rental car company at itsheart, the assignee transacts an ever increasing number of timesensitive, relatively low dollar volume, vehicle rentals which in manyinstances require authorizations to be made in advance, reservations ofvehicles from available geographic and vehicle type selections,monitoring of the rental as it progresses including possibly extendingthe rental under certain circumstances, communications between thevarious parties involved in the transaction to ensure ultimate customersatisfaction, and financial accounting for the transaction includinggenerating invoices and processing them for payment. While a significantportion of the vehicle rental business involves rental for leisure,business travel, etc., another significant business relationship hasdeveloped with insurance companies and the like in what has been termedas the replacement car rental service business. In this business, avehicle insurance company may have many thousands of policyholders whoare eligible to be involved in accidents, and other dislocations of use,requiring that a vehicle be rented for that customer's use while his ownvehicle be made ready again for use. Thus, for this business segment, amulti-tiered business organization such as a vehicle insurance companyrepresents a significant customer for repetitive vehicle rentalservices. To conduct this business in an orderly, time efficient andcost efficient manner, it is necessary that this insurance company hasas its business partner a vehicle rental company which is itselfmulti-tiered, such as the assignee of the present invention. This isbecause the needs, both geographically and in volume, are significantwhich require the dedication of a significant amount of resources. Tosatisfy these needs and to respond to other business growth, in itsembrace of technology the assignee hereof has succeeded in developing anin-house computer system and related software which has integrated itsbusiness internally. This business integration has been massive andcompany-wide as is needed to integrate a company having a central officewith literally thousands of individual branches located nationally, andeven now internationally, with hundreds of thousands of vehiclesavailable for rental. Furthermore, other business partners includingother service providers such as vehicle repair shops have also beengiven access to this system to allow for input of information relatingto progress of vehicle repair, extension of rental time, etc. as therental progresses. This integrated business computer network andsoftware generally includes a mainframe server at the heart of a widearea network (WAN) which facilitates the transfer of vehicle rentalinformation and orders company-wide. This integrated business model ismost efficient and needed in order to satisfy the vehicle rental serviceneeds of a vehicle insurance company which itself may be national oreven international in scope.

As a first step in extending the integration of technology into thisbusiness model, the present assignee has previously developed andimplemented a computer system which has provided improved communicationcapabilities between the two business partners. This system generallycomprised a second mainframe computer linked to the first mainframe ofthe integrated business network, with dedicated access lines beingprovided from this second mainframe to various levels of the multilevelbusiness organization comprising the insurance company. In effect, withthis additional mainframe and dedicated pipeline access, variousindividuals at the insurance company were permitted to directly interactwith the integrated business computer network of the vehicle rentalcompany as well as other selected service providers such as body shopswhere wrecked vehicles were being repaired. The implementation of thissystem provided a great step forward over the people intensive businessactivity previously required in order to handle the large number oftransactions encountered in this business relationship. Historically,the replacement car market engendered large numbers of telephone callsbeing placed between the insurance company, the rental company, and thebody shop where vehicle repair was being performed in order to authorizethe rental, select and secure the desired replacement vehicle to beprovided, monitor the progress of the repair work so that scheduling ofthe rental vehicle could be controlled, extending the vehicle rental inthe event of delays in repair, authorizing various activities involvedin the rental process including upgrades of vehicles or other chargesfor services, and subsequent billing of the rental service andprocessing the billing to the insurance company for payment.

While the implementation of this system was successful and represented atremendous step forward in automating the business relationship betweenthe insurance company and the vehicle rental company, it did havecertain limitations. For example, a specific communication link had tobe established between the rental vehicle company and the particularusers at the insurance company designated to have access to this system.Thus, special attention and some modicum of expense was required toestablish these “pipelines” and maintain them. Still another aspect tothe system implemented was that it was not “browser” based nor did itprovide graphical user interface (GUI) menus. Thus, each user had to bespecifically trained in the particular “language” used by the system andlearn to work with specific menus nested in a specific manner as well ascodes for entering commands which were not similar to other computersoftware programs. This software design thus necessarily requiredadditional training in order to insure that users could gain the fullmeasure of advantage provided by the system and in order to minimize theopportunity for erroneous information or incorrect reservations frombeing entered or otherwise confusing the business transactions.Furthermore, user efficiency was not immediate and required skill beyondthat ordinarily found in casual computer users, as we are all becomingin this computer age. Still another disadvantage to the system was thataccess was required to a designated entry point in the system in orderfor a person authorized to be on the system to work with it. As thenature of the insurance and replacement car business requires extrememobility at multiple levels of both business partners, this represents alimitation to the usefulness and time efficiency with which variousbusiness functions could be performed. Therefore, while implementationof the second mainframe allowing for pipeline connections at variouslevels of the multi-tiered insurance company was a significant stepforward in automating the business relationship between the two businesspartners, significant limitations to this solution were readily apparentto the users thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventors herein have succeeded in designing and developing a meansfor substantially enhancing the business to business communication linkbetween these two businesses which provide significant advantages overits prior embodiment. More particularly, the inventors have succeeded inreplacing the dedicated pipeline access of the existing system with aweb portal allowing Internet access to the mainframe with a browserbased graphical user interface (GUI) presentation. This also made thesystem more readily accessible to smaller business partners as theexpense of the “pipeline” was eliminated. This invention offers severalimportant technical advantages over the previous system. First of all,by taking advantage of the ubiquitous nature of the Internet, theultimate in portability and connectivity for this system is now providedin a business environment where mobility and connectivity are at apremium. In other words, a claims adjuster, body shop, or any otherbusiness employee authorized to have access to the system may gainaccess at any site offering Internet access. In present day technologythat includes many mobile devices and appliances which are Internetenabled. As technology advances, it is conceivable that this access willextend to permit “24/7” access by any authorized person at anygeographic location. This is a marked improvement providing immediatebenefit and advantage over the dedicated pipeline access of the priorart system.

A second major advantage of the present invention is its graphical userinterface. The inventors have taken full advantage of this browser basedGUI to streamline and organize the presentation of information to a userto actually guide him as he interacts in doing his business. One suchexample is customized design of the menus such that the user is guidedand directed to answer only those questions required to be answered inorder to conduct the particular transaction being addressed, and furtherto present choices to the user for his selection to minimize the needfor the user to rely on his own memory or to be familiar withcomplicated and specialized codes to enter data or request transactionactivity. With the recent and continuing explosion of the Internet, morepeople are becoming familiar with browser programs and their operationthrough their own daily activities in their personal lives. Thisfamiliarity paves the way for easier training and quicker orientation ofa new user to the present invention. For large business organizationscommunicating at multiple levels, this significant advantage cannot beminimized as there are large numbers of people who must be continuouslytrained due to the growth of the organizations, as well as theinevitable attrition. Thus, the present invention provides an immediateincrease in worker productivity, and makes that improved efficiencyavailable to many more workers who are not particularly skilledotherwise in computer usage.

Still another advantage provided by the present invention is through theimplementation of additional functionalities which are engendered by thebrowser/GUI interface. As the system is continuously used, and feedbackis continuously monitored and analyzed, additional features that addvalue through providing management information as well as by speedingtransaction activity over the system may be implemented. For example,several of these features include the ability of a user to create an ondemand report for transaction activity including summaries oftransactions handled by a particular user or group of users which mighteither be open or closed. Another example of additional functionalitywhich improves the efficiency of a user is the ability to create arepair facility call back list which allows a user to sort existing openvehicle rental reservations by repair facility (body shop) and date suchthat a user is presented with the list of open reservations at aparticular repair facility which can be readily handled in a singletelephone call while at the same time having the system on line toimplement any needed changes such as extensions of reservations, etc.Additional functionality has also been provided to speed the processingof invoicing which of course also speeds their payment and cashreceipts. For example, it was found that even despite the built-in errorchecking and correction facilities provided to the users of the system,a repetitive pattern of mistakes involving incorrect claim numbers wasdiscovered. To speed the processing of these, an additionalfunctionality was provided as an “electronic audit” known as invoicereturn which returns an invoice to a particular adjuster upon detectionof an incorrect claim number for his human intervention and correctionof the claim number. In this manner, problem invoices exhibiting one ofthe most common problems encountered may be readily handled within thesystem and in an efficient manner, instead of manually as before.

The present invention also has as a significant advantage the ability tobe further customized to meet the individual business partners' needsand desires as well as to provide additional functionality by offeringadditional features which become desirable upon accumulation of userdata based on user experience. Furthermore, once implemented, they areimmediately available system wide.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that the graphicaluser interface incorporates point and click interaction, using buttonsand tabs to present or conceal data for the user's attention orinattention as the case may be, and provide a much more robustinteraction capability through the creation of menu designs that allowfor access to the most commonly needed features from any point in themenu architecture. This is to be contrasted with the prior system whichconsisted of a main frame character based interface while the presentinvention with its GUI interface allows a user to point and click tonavigate and to make selections by pull down selection, thereby reducingerrors. As users become more experienced with the system, and theirconfidence level grows, they are much more likely to become bored andaggravated with the rigid structure of the prior system requiring themto follow along a certain menu architecture in order to complete certaintasks. On the other hand, the present invention generally increases theinterest of the user in using the system. These advantages of thepresent invention over the prior interface promote employee productivityby allowing a user more control over his work which is critical inachieving savings in human resources to operate the system which is oneof its main goals.

While the principal advantages and features of the invention have beendiscussed above, a greater understanding of the invention including afuller description of its other advantages and features may be attainedby referring to the drawings and the detailed description of thepreferred embodiment which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the computer systems comprising theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the software programs which communicate overthe computer systems of FIG. 1 to implement the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The overall system architecture for the present invention 20 is bestshown in FIG. 1. As shown therein, an insurance company computer system22, which itself may be virtually any computer configuration or even astand alone PC accesses the Internet 24 through any convenient accesspoint 26 such as even including an ISP (Internet service provider), asknown in the art. Also connected to the Internet 24 is a web portal 28which is preferably provided by a server appropriately programmed asexplained herein below. This web portal 28 may be appropriate configuredas desired to suit any particular business relationship or arrangement,although preferably the inventors herein and assignee of this inventionhave determined that a 24/7 or full time connection to the Internet 24is preferable, except for scheduled downtimes for maintenance, etc. Theservice provider 30 which for purposes of explaining the presentpreferred embodiment is preferably a vehicle rental organization, hasitself an Internet portal mainframe 32 connected by a bi-directionalcommunication link 34 to a second computer network 36 which may itselfpreferably have a mainframe server 38. This second computer system 36 ispreferably a network having a database 40 for communication with whatmay be thousands of branch offices each of which has its own computerinterface 44 which communicates to this second mainframe server 38 toconduct the integrated business functions of a service providerorganization. Instead of communicating with the branch offices directly,a reservation may be communicated to a centralized location for furtherprocessing, such as a call center, and then relayed on to an appropriatebranch office. This might be desirable under certain circumstances, suchas if a branch office is closed, or when a purchaser requires somespecialized service such as close monitoring of the rental. This may bedone electronically and automatically, or with human intervention.

It should be noted that the particular computer configuration chosen asthe preferred embodiment herein may itself be subject to wide variation.Furthermore, the term “mainframe” as used herein refers solely to acomputer which can provide large scale processing of large numbers oftransactions in a timely enough manner to suit the particular businessapplication. Preferably, as is presently used by the assignee hereof, anIBM AS/400 mainframe computer is used as each of computers 32, 38.However, as is well known in the art, computer technology is subject torapid change and it is difficult if not impossible to predict how thesecomputer systems may evolve as technology advances in this art. Forexample, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that in the not sodistant future a network of computers would provide the processing powerto conduct these business operations as presently handled by “mainframe”computers. Thus, the term “mainframe” is not used in a limiting sensebut merely to indicate that it is descriptive of a computer suited tohandle the processing needs for a large scale business application.

It should also be noted that the communication link 46 extending betweenthe server 42 and each of the branch offices 44 may have alternativeconfigurations. For example, in some applications access over theInternet may itself be adequate, recognizing the vagaries of Internetservice availability, reliability, and processing speed. Alternatively,this communication link 46 could well be a dedicated pipeline providingbroadband service connection full time with back up connections toensure continuous communication between a particular branch office orgroups of branch offices and the service providers business operationscomputer system 36. Some branch offices might even be served throughsatellite links. Indeed, it is even possible that a mixture of thesewide variations of service level be present within a singleorganization's structure depending upon communication link cost andavailability balanced against service needs. It should merely be notedfor present purposes that this communication link 46 serves as theelectronic umbilical cord through which branch offices 44 communicatewith the business computer system 36 of the present invention.

Attached hereto as exhibits are functional descriptions of the softwareprogram's resident on the computers comprising the two computer systems32, 38 which implement the present invention. More particularly,attached hereto as Exhibit A is a functional description of the softwareto implement the integrated business functions resident on the AS/400 ormainframe computer 38. Attached hereto as Exhibits B and C are relatedflow diagrams and explanatory text, respectively, for the softwareresident on the mainframe AS/400 computer 32. Attached hereto as ExhibitD is a functional description of the software resident on computer 32but which also appears on the server 28 which creates the web portal foraccess to the mainframe 32 and its resident program. Server 28 may use abi-directional GUI to character based interface translator program, wellknown to those skilled in the art, to present the displays andinformation obtained and transmitted between the user and the computer32. However, the software of Exhibit D could also be run on server 28,as would be appreciated by those of skill in the art. It is believedthat these functional descriptions and accompanying text as exemplifiedin these exhibits are adequate to enable an ordinary programmer toimplement corresponding software programs for executing the preferredembodiment of the present invention using ordinary programming skillsand without inventive effort.

As a further example of the flow of data and the functional advantagesprovided by the present invention, reference is made to FIG. 2. As showntherein, a right hand column is identified as “ECARS” which representsthe integrated business software implemented as part of the mainframeoperation 38 in computer network 36. The center column headed “ARMS” isresident on mainframe computer 32 and coordinates the communication ofdata. The left column headed “ARMS/WEB” represents the software residenton computer but which is presented on server 28 and accessible by usersthrough the Internet. Along the left side of FIG. 2 are designated threeseparate sections of operational activity. These are “reservation”followed by “open” and concluded by “close”. Generally, the functionaldescriptions are arranged in chronological order proceeding from the topof FIG. 2 to the bottom. However, some functional features are permittedthroughout the entirety of one of the three periods designated at theleft side of FIG. 2. One such example is the “message” function whichallows messages to be sent between users at one business organization 22and branch offices 44 and others connected to the other businessorganization 30. Proceeding with a description of the transaction, thefirst set of communications allow for the reservation of the services.These can include requests for authorization or a rescind authorizationrequest to be sent from the service provider to the service purchaser.Correspondingly, authorizations and authorization cancels can be sentfrom the services purchaser to the services provider. Confirmations arecommunicated upon confirmation of an authorized reservation request.Authorization changes may be made and communicated from the servicespurchaser to the service provider. Corresponding rental transactionchanges may be communicated from the services provider to the servicespurchaser. As indicated, through the entirety of this process messagesmay be sent between users and others connected or having access to theintegrated business software, as desired. The consummation of thisportion of the transaction is a reservation that has been placed,authorized, confirmed, and provision is made for changes as necessary.During the next phase of the transaction, a reservation is opened andservices intended to be provided are started. Generally, and preferablyfor the rental of vehicles, a start and end date are established in thereservation process. However, along the way, transactional changes maybe made, such as for changing the type of vehicle provided, extensionsmay be requested and entered from either business partner, messages maybe transmitted between the business partners, and the transaction may beterminated such as by voiding the contract by one business partner orterminating the authority by the other business partner. The term“reservation” has been used herein to refer not only to the act ofplacing the order but also to filling the order for services includingproviding the rental vehicle to the ultimate user and even invoicing forthose services.

The last phase of the process involves closing the transaction. Duringthis phase of the transaction, the contract is indicated as being closedand invoiced, the services purchaser can approve invoices, rejectinvoices, and also remit invoices. Such invoice remittance may alsoinclude the actual transfer of funds through an electronic fundstransfer medium, or otherwise as previously arranged between thebusiness partners.

It should be understood that this is a streamlined description of thehandling of a transaction, and by no means is exhaustive. For example,much more functionality is available to the user including accessing thedata base to generate production reports regarding status of open orclosed reservations, preparing action item lists to allow a user toorganize and prioritize his work, obtaining information available in thesystem from having been entered by others which would otherwise requirephone conversations which are inefficient and occupy still anotherperson's time. A more detailed explanation of the functionality providedis found in the exhibits.

In summary, the present invention creates almost an illusion that theservices purchaser, and the great number of users at various levels ofthe multi-tier purchaser users, are actually part of the servicesprovider organization in that immediate online access is provided tosignificant data which enable the user to make reservations forservices, monitor those services as they are being provided, communicatewith those providing the services, obtain information relating to thestatus of services as they are being provided, and close transactions,all by interacting with the services provider business organization overthat user's PC and without human interaction required by the businessproviders personnel. By way of contra-distinction, for many yearsbusiness has been conducted on a human level by customers picking up thetelephone and calling services providers and talking to their humancounterparts in order to convey information, place orders, monitororders, including obtaining information as to status, canceling orders,questioning invoices and paying invoices, along with a myriad of otherrelated interactions. Not only did the conduct of business in thismanner entail significant amounts of human resources at both ends of thetransaction, but it also led to inefficiencies, mistakes and delays allof which increase the cost of doing business and contribute to anincreased risk of services being rendered in an unsatisfactory manner inmany instances to the end user. The present invention has taken thepreexisting solution of providing electronic communication between thebusiness partners to another level by “web enabling” this system forimproved connectivity, improved usability, reduced training, enhancedmobility, and other advantages as described herein.

Various changes and modifications to the preferred embodiment asexplained herein would be envisioned by those of skill in the art.Examples of these changes and modifications include the utilization ofcomputer systems configured in any one of a myriad of ways using presenttechnology alone. For example, mobile computers are presently availableand wireless technology could be used to extend the integrated businessnetwork of the services provider, as well as match the mobility neededby the various users connected to and using the present invention. Theparticular software, and various aspects and features of its design,have been adapted for particular application to the vehicle rentalbusiness. Of course, computer software applications satisfying otherbusiness needs would necessarily require adaptation to their particularbusiness models. Thus, it is envisioned by the inventors herein that thevarious software programs described herein would be matched to theparticular business application to which the invention is utilized.These and other aspects of the preferred embodiment should not be viewedas limiting and instead be considered merely as illustrative of anexample of the practical implementation of the present invention. Thesechanges and modifications should be considered as part of the inventionand the invention should be considered as limited only by the scope ofthe claims appended hereto and their legal equivalents.

1-46. (canceled)
 47. A rental vehicle reservation management computersystem for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, thecomputer system being configured to: (1) provide a plurality ofgraphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet ona purchaser computer, (2) accept input from the purchaser computer overthe Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create aplurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the acceptedinput, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to a pluralityof replacement vehicles for a plurality of vehicles undergoing repair ata plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation havingan authorized number of days, and (4) provide at least one report fordisplay on the purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, the atleast one report comprising details about the plurality of rentalvehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies atleast one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repairfacilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair, (2) the authorizednumber of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3)a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have beenopen for more than the authorized number of days, the number of daysbehind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorizeddays for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days thatthat rental vehicle reservation has been open.
 48. The system of claim47 wherein the at least one report consists of sorted data therefor thatidentifies the repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoingrepair.
 49. The system of claim 47 wherein the at least one reportconsists of sorted data therefor that identifies the authorized numberof days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations.
 50. The systemof claim 47 wherein the at least one report consists of sorted datatherefor that identifies the number of days behind for rental vehiclereservations.
 51. The system of claim 47 wherein the computer system isfurther configured to manage the created rental vehicle reservations inresponse to the accepted input.
 52. The system of claim 51 comprising atleast one mainframe and an Internet web portal in communication with theat least one mainframe, wherein the Internet web portal is configured to(1) provide the GUI screens for display over the Internet on thepurchaser computer, (2) accept input from the purchaser computer overthe Internet and through the provided GUI screens, and (3) provide theat least one report for display on the purchaser computer through aprovided GUI screen, and wherein the at least one mainframe isconfigured to create and manage the rental vehicle reservations inresponse to the accepted input.
 53. The system of claim 52 wherein theat least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a secondmainframe, the second mainframe being configured to fulfill the rentalvehicle reservations.
 54. The system of claim 51 wherein the computersystem is further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.55. The system of claim 54 wherein the computer system is furtherconfigured to create and manage the rental vehicle reservations throughexecution of a first software program, and wherein the computer systemis further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations throughexecution of a second software program.
 56. The system of claim 51wherein the computer system is further configured to manage the createdrental vehicle reservations by extending a rental time for at least oneof the created rental vehicle reservations in response to the acceptedinput.
 57. The system of claim 51 wherein the computer system is furtherconfigured to manage the created rental vehicle reservations by changinga vehicle type for at least one of the created rental vehiclereservations in response to the accepted input.
 58. The system of claim51 wherein the computer system is further configured to manage thecreated rental vehicle reservations by changing an authorization for atleast one of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to theaccepted input.
 59. The system of claim 51 wherein the computer systemis further configured to manage the created rental vehicle reservationsby approving an invoice for at least one of the created rental vehiclereservations in response to the accepted input.
 60. The system of claim47 wherein the computer system is further configured to select which ofthe reports are to be provided for display on the remote computer inresponse to input from the remote purchaser computer.
 61. A method forprocessing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the methodcomprising: (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI)screens for display over the Internet on a purchaser computer, (2)accepting input from the purchaser computer over the Internet andthrough the provided GUI screens, (3) creating a plurality of rentalvehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein therental vehicle reservations correspond to a plurality of replacementvehicles for a plurality of vehicles undergoing repair at a plurality ofrepair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorizednumber of days, and (4) providing at least one report for display on thepurchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, the at least onereport comprising details about the plurality of rental vehiclereservations including sorted data therefor that identifies at least oneselected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities wherethe vehicles are undergoing repair, (2) the authorized number of daysfor the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number ofdays behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for morethan the authorized number of days, the number of days behind beingcalculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for anopen rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rentalvehicle reservation has been open.
 62. The method of claim 61 whereinthe at least one report includes sorted data therefor that identifiesthe repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair.
 63. Themethod of claim 61 wherein the at least one report includes sorted datatherefor that identifies the authorized number of days for the pluralityof rental vehicle reservations.
 64. The method of claim 61 wherein theat least one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies thenumber of days behind for rental vehicle reservations.
 65. The method ofclaim 61 further comprising managing the created rental vehiclereservations in response to the accepted input.
 66. The method of claim65 further comprising: performing the GUI screen providing step, theinput accepting step, and the report providing step with an Internet webportal, and performing the creating step and the managing step with atleast one mainframe.
 67. The method of claim 66 wherein the at least onemainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, whereinthe step of performing the creating step and the managing step comprisesperforming the creating step and the managing step with the firstmainframe, the method further comprising: fulfilling the rental vehiclereservations, and performing the fulfilling step with the secondmainframe.
 68. The method of claim 65 further comprising fulfilling therental vehicle reservations.
 69. The method of claim 68 furthercomprising: performing the creating step and the providing step byexecuting a first software program, and performing the fulfilling stepby executing a second software program.
 70. The method of claim 65wherein the managing step comprises extending a rental time for at leastone of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to theaccepted input.
 71. The method of claim 65 wherein the managing stepcomprises changing a vehicle type for at least one of the created rentalvehicle reservations in response to the accepted input.
 72. The methodof claim 65 wherein the managing step comprises changing anauthorization for at least one of the created rental vehiclereservations in response to the accepted input.
 73. The method of claim65 wherein the managing step comprises approving an invoice for at leastone of the created rental vehicle reservations in response to theaccepted input.
 74. The method of claim 61 further comprising selectingwhich of the reports are to be provided for display on the purchasercomputer in response to input from the purchaser computer.
 75. Themethod of claim 61 wherein the purchaser computer comprises a computeroperated by an insurance adjuster.
 76. A rental vehicle reservationmanagement computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehiclereservations, the computer system being configured to: (1) provide aplurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over theInternet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept inputfrom the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through theprovided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rentalvehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein therental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservationsfor a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoingrepair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehiclereservation having an authorized number of days, (4) determine whetherany of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond theauthorized number of days; (5) determine a number of days behind withrespect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehiclereservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorizednumber of days; and (6) provide a report for display on at least one ofthe remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the reportcomprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of therental vehicle reservations.
 77. The system of claim 76 wherein thecomputer system is further configured to generate the report such thatthe rental vehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted orderwith respect to each reservation's determined number of days behind. 78.The system of claim 77 comprising at least one mainframe and an Internetweb portal in communication with the at least one mainframe, wherein theInternet web portal is configured to (1) provide the GUI screens fordisplay over the Internet on the remote purchaser computers, (2) acceptinput from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and throughthe provided GUI screens, and (3) provide the report for display on theat least one remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen,and wherein the at least one mainframe is configured to create andmanage the rental vehicle reservations in response to the acceptedinput.
 79. The system of claim 78 wherein the at least one mainframecomprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, the second mainframebeing configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.
 80. Thesystem of claim 76 wherein the computer system is further configured tofulfill the rental vehicle reservations.
 81. The system of claim 80wherein the computer system is further configured to create and managethe rental vehicle reservations through execution of a first softwareprogram, and wherein the computer system is further configured tofulfill the rental vehicle reservations through execution of a secondsoftware program.
 82. The system of claim 76 wherein the computer systemis further configured to provide the report for display on the at leastone remote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen in responseto the accepted input.
 83. A method for processing a plurality of rentalvehicle reservations, the method comprising: (1) providing a pluralityof graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Interneton a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input fromthe remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through theprovided GUI screens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rentalvehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein therental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservationsfor a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoingrepair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehiclereservation having an authorized number of days, (4) determining whetherany of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond theauthorized number of days; (5) determining a number of days behind withrespect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehiclereservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorizednumber of days; and (6) providing a report for display on at least oneof the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, thereport comprising the determined number of days behind for a pluralityof the rental vehicle reservations.
 84. The method of claim 83 furthercomprising generating the report such that the rental vehiclereservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect toeach reservation's determined number of days behind.
 85. The method ofclaim 84 further comprising: performing the GUI screen providing step,the input accepting step, and the report providing step with an Internetweb portal, and performing the creating step and the managing step withat least one mainframe.
 86. The method of claim 85 wherein the at leastone mainframe comprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe,wherein the step of performing the creating step and the managing stepcomprises performing the creating step and the managing step with thefirst mainframe, the method further comprising: fulfilling the rentalvehicle reservations, and performing the fulfilling step with the secondmainframe.
 87. The method of claim 83 further comprising fulfilling therental vehicle reservations.
 88. The method of claim 87 furthercomprising: performing the creating step and the providing step byexecuting a first software program, and performing the fulfilling stepby executing a second software program.
 89. The method of claim 83further comprising providing the report for display on the at least oneremote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen in response tothe accepted input.
 90. The method of claim 83 wherein the at least oneremote purchaser computer comprises a computer operated by an insuranceadjuster.
 91. A computer system for processing a plurality of rentalvehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to: (1)provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens fordisplay over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,(2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internetand through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and make a plurality oftransactional changes to a plurality of rental vehicle reservations inresponse to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservationscorrespond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third partydrivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality ofrepair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorizednumber of days, (4) determine whether any of the rental vehiclereservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days; (5)determine a number of days behind with respect to the authorized numberof days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to havebeen open beyond the authorized number of days; and (6) provide a reportfor display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through aprovided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of daysbehind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations.
 92. Thesystem of claim 91 wherein the computer system is further configured togenerate the report such that the rental vehicle reservations describedtherein are in a sorted order with respect to each reservation'sdetermined number of days behind.
 93. The system of claim 92 comprisingat least one mainframe and an Internet web portal in communication withthe at least one mainframe, wherein the Internet web portal isconfigured to (1) provide the GUI screens for display over the Interneton the remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remotepurchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUIscreens, and (3) provide the report for display on the at least oneremote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, and wherein theat least one mainframe is configured to create and make transactionalchanges to the rental vehicle reservations in response to the acceptedinput.
 94. The system of claim 93 wherein the at least one mainframecomprises a first mainframe and a second mainframe, the second mainframebeing configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations.
 95. Thesystem of claim 91 wherein the computer system is further configured tofulfill the rental vehicle reservations.
 96. The system of claim 95wherein the computer system is further configured to create and maketransactional changes to the rental vehicle reservations throughexecution of a first software program, and wherein the computer systemis further configured to fulfill the rental vehicle reservations throughexecution of a second software program.
 97. The system of claim 91wherein the computer system is further configured to provide the reportfor display on the at least one remote purchaser computer through aprovided GUI screen in response to the accepted input.
 98. A method forprocessing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the methodcomprising: (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI)screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchasercomputers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers overthe Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating andmaking a plurality of transactional changes to a plurality of rentalvehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein therental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservationsfor a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoingrepair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehiclereservation having an authorized number of days, (4) determining whetherany of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond theauthorized number of days; (5) determining a number of days behind withrespect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehiclereservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorizednumber of days; and (6) providing a report for display on at least oneof the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, thereport comprising the determined number of days behind for a pluralityof the rental vehicle reservations.
 99. The method of claim 98 furthercomprising generating the report such that the rental vehiclereservations described therein are in a sorted order with respect toeach reservation's determined number of days behind.
 100. The method ofclaim 99 further comprising: performing the GUI screen providing step,the input accepting step, and the report providing step with an Internetweb portal, and performing the creating step and the transactionalchange making step with at least one mainframe.
 101. The method of claim100 wherein the at least one mainframe comprises a first mainframe and asecond mainframe, wherein the step of performing the creating step andthe transactional change making step comprises performing the creatingstep and the transactional change making step with the first mainframe,the method further comprising: fulfilling the rental vehiclereservations, and performing the fulfilling step with the secondmainframe.
 102. The method of claim 98 further comprising fulfilling therental vehicle reservations.
 103. The method of claim 102 furthercomprising: performing the creating step and the providing step byexecuting a first software program, and performing the fulfilling stepby executing a second software program.
 104. The method of claim 98further comprising providing the report for display on the at least oneremote purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen in response tothe accepted input.
 105. The method of claim 98 wherein the at least oneremote purchaser computer comprises a computer operated by an insuranceadjuster.
 106. A rental vehicle reservation management computer systemfor processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computersystem being configured to: (1) provide a plurality of graphical userinterface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality ofremote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchasercomputers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3)create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in responseto the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservationscorrespond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third partydrivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality ofrepair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorizednumber of days, and (4) provide a report for display on at least one ofthe remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the reportcomprising the authorized number of days for a plurality of the rentalvehicle reservations.
 107. The system of claim 106 wherein the computersystem is further configured to generate the report such that the rentalvehicle reservations described therein are in a sorted order withrespect to each reservation's authorized number of days.
 108. A methodfor processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the methodcomprising: (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI)screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchasercomputers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers overthe Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating andmanaging a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to theaccepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond torental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whosevehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repairfacilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized numberof days, and (4) providing a report for display on at least one of theremote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the reportcomprising the authorized number of days for a plurality of the rentalvehicle reservations.
 109. The method of claim 108 further comprisinggenerating the report such that the rental vehicle reservationsdescribed therein are in a sorted order with respect to eachreservation's authorized number of days.
 110. A rental vehiclereservation management computer system for processing a plurality ofrental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens fordisplay over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,(2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internetand through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a pluralityof rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input,wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehiclereservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles areundergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4)provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchasercomputers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising detailsabout the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles areundergoing repairs.
 111. The system of claim 110 wherein the computersystem is further configured to generate the report such that the repairfacility details comprise information, for each repair facility, about aplurality of the rental vehicle reservations corresponding to the thirdparties' vehicles which are undergoing repairs at that repair facility.112. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations,the method comprising: (1) providing a plurality of graphical userinterface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality ofremote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input from the remotepurchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUIscreens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehiclereservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rentalvehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for aplurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repairprovided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) providing a reportfor display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through aprovided GUI screen, the report comprising details about the repairfacilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs.113. The method of claim 112 wherein the computer system is furtherconfigured to generate the report such that the repair facility detailscomprise information, for each repair facility, about a plurality of therental vehicle reservations corresponding to the third parties' vehicleswhich are undergoing repairs at that repair facility.
 114. A rentalvehicle reservation management computer system for processing aplurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system beingconfigured to: (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI)screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchasercomputers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over theInternet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage aplurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the acceptedinput, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rentalvehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whosevehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repairfacilities, and (4) provide a repair facility callback list for displayon at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUIscreen.
 115. The system of claim 114 wherein the computer system isfurther configured to generate the repair facility callback list suchthat it is sortable with respect to a plurality of open rental vehiclereservations for third party drivers whose vehicle are undergoingrepairs at the same repair facility.
 116. A method for processing aplurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising: (1)providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens fordisplay over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers,(2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over theInternet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and managinga plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the acceptedinput, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rentalvehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whosevehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repairfacilities, and (4) providing a repair facility callback list fordisplay on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through aprovided GUI screen.
 117. The method of claim 116 further comprisinggenerating the repair facility callback list such that it is sortablewith respect to a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations forthird party drivers whose vehicle are undergoing repairs at the samerepair facility.
 118. A rental vehicle reservation management computersystem for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, thecomputer system being configured to: (1) provide a plurality ofgraphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet ona plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from theremote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the providedGUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehiclereservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rentalvehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for aplurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repairprovided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) provide aplurality of action item lists for display on the remote purchasercomputers through a provided GUI screen.
 119. The system of claim 118wherein each remote purchaser computer is operated by a user, andwherein the computer system is further configured to (1) assign therental vehicle reservations to a plurality of different users, and (2)generate a different action item list for each user such that any actionitems corresponding to a rental vehicle reservation assigned to thatuser are included in the action item list for that user.
 120. A methodfor processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the methodcomprising: (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI)screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchasercomputers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers overthe Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating andmanaging a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to theaccepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond torental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whosevehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repairfacilities, and (4) providing a plurality of action item lists fordisplay on the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen.121. The method of claim 120 wherein each remote purchaser computer isoperated by a user, the method further comprising: assigning the rentalvehicle reservations to a plurality of different users, and generating adifferent action item list for each user such that any action itemscorresponding to a rental vehicle reservation assigned to that user areincluded in the action item list for that user.
 122. The method of claim121 wherein a plurality of the users comprise a plurality of insuranceadjusters.
 123. A rental vehicle reservation management computer systemfor processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computersystem being configured to: (1) provide a plurality of graphical userinterface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality ofremote purchaser computers, each remote purchaser computer beingoperated by a user, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computersover the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create andmanage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to theaccepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond torental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whosevehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repairfacilities, each reservation having an associated user who handlesmanagement thereof, and (4) provide a report for display on at least oneof the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, thereport comprising a summary of rental vehicle reservations handled by atleast one of the users.
 124. The system of claim 123 wherein thecomputer system is further configured to generate the report such thatthe summarized rental vehicle reservations comprise open rental vehiclereservations.
 125. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehiclereservations, the method comprising: (1) providing a plurality ofgraphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet ona plurality of remote purchaser computers, each remote purchasercomputer being operated by a user, (2) accepting input from the remotepurchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUIscreens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehiclereservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rentalvehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for aplurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repairprovided by a plurality of repair facilities, each reservation having anassociated user who handles management thereof, and (4) providing areport for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computersthrough a provided GUI screen, the report comprising a summary of rentalvehicle reservations handled by at least one of the users.
 126. Themethod of claim 125 further comprising generating the report such thatthe summarized rental vehicle reservations comprise open rental vehiclereservations.
 127. The method of claim 125 wherein the users comprise aplurality of insurance adjusters.
 128. A method for creating andmanaging a rental vehicle reservation, the method comprising: (1)accessing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens over theInternet, the accessed GUI screens being configured to establish a linkto a rental vehicle software program on a remote computer system, (2)inputting first data to the remote computer system over the Internet andthrough an accessed GUI screen, the inputted first data for use by theremote computer system when executing the rental vehicle softwareprogram to create a rental vehicle reservation with a rental vehicleservice provider on behalf of a third party driver, each rental vehiclereservation having an authorized number of days, (3) inputting seconddata to the remote computer system over the Internet and through anaccessed GUI screen, and (4) responsive to the second data inputtingstep, receiving at least one report for display, the at least one reportcomprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservationsincluding data therefor that identifies at least one selected from thegroup consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the third parties'vehicles are undergoing repairs, (2) the authorized number of days forthe plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number of daysbehind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more thanthe authorized number of days, the number of days behind beingcalculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for anopen rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rentalvehicle reservation has been open.
 129. The method of claim 128 furthercomprising sorting the details within the at least one report accordingto a sort order.
 130. The method of claim 128 wherein the at least onereport consists of only one report selected from the group, wherein theonly one report includes sorted data therefor that identifies the repairfacilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs.131. The method of claim 128 wherein the at least one report consists ofonly one report selected from the group, wherein the only one reportincludes sorted data therefor that identifies the authorized number ofdays for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations.
 132. The methodof claim 128 wherein the at least one report consists of only one reportselected from the group, wherein the only one report includes sorteddata therefor that identifies the number of days behind for rentalvehicle reservations.
 133. The method of claim 128 further comprisinginputting third data to the remote computer system over the Internet andthrough an accessed GUI screen, the inputted third data for use by theremote computer system when executing the rental vehicle softwareprogram to manage the created rental vehicle reservation.
 134. Themethod of claim 128 wherein the accessing step comprises accessing theGUI screens through an Internet web browser.